Maybe democrat politicians and government drones should have taken a few business courses in college when they were getting their degrees in African Studies and Lesbian Studies. The bozos who run Philadelphia (100% Democrats) are shocked and appalled that evil corporations, who have seen their business crater by 40% due to the brilliant soda tax imposed on the people of Philadelphia, would dare layoff hundreds of workers in order to try and maintain a semblance of profitability.
The law of supply and demand is too hard for these democrat dolts to comprehend. These dumbasses multiplied their soda tax by the volume of soda being sold annually in Philly and saw a windfall to support the union government drones and their gold plated underfunded pensions. They failed to take into account price and volume. A 50% to 60% increase in the price of a good results in a dramatic crash in sales.
Due to the crash in sales, Philly will collect far less in tax than they anticipated. Soda companies and retailers are laying off hundreds of people in the city, so wage taxes will decline. The businesses will have far less profits, so corporate income taxes will decline.
Mayor Kenney can point fingers and issue press releases, but reality has already shown his asinine tax to be a complete and utter failure. Democrats are brain dead morons.
Pepsi to lay off 80 to 100, blames soda tax
With sales slumping because of the new Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax, Pepsi said Wednesday it will lay off 80 to 100 workers at three distribution plants that serve the city.
The company, which employs 423 people in the city, sent out notices Wednesday and said the layoffs would be spread over the next few months. The layoffs come in response to the beverage tax which has cut sales by 40 percent in the city, Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said.
“Unfortunately, after careful consideration of the economic realities created by the recently enacted beverage tax, we have been forced to give notice that we intend to eliminate 80 to 100 positions, including frontline and supervisory roles, in Philadelphia over the next few months, beginning today,” DeCecco said.
The city lambasted the news, pointing to the company’s profits.
“The soda industry sunk to a new low today,” city spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said. “They are literally holding hostage the jobs of hardworking people in their battle to overturn the tax. Pepsi reported nearly $35 billion in gross income and $6 billion in profit last year, their CEO makes $25 million dollars a year, and they along with the beverage industry continue to shill out hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbyists and advertising against the tax. The idea that they can afford to do that but ‘must lay off workers’ should make every Philadelphian very skeptical of whether these layoffs are actually due to the tax.”
The layoffs will occur at plants in North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and Wilmington, Del.
The 1.5-cent per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages is levied on distributors and funds expanded pre-K opportunities for three- and four-year-olds citywide. Bottlers and supermarkets have reported that beverage sales were down significantly since the tax went into effect in January.
Canada Dry Delaware Valley said last month it would lay off 35 people due to declining sales. Jeff Brown, who owns six ShopRite stores in the city said he’s had to slash employee hours and believes as many as 300 jobs could be cut.
DeCecco said the jobs would come back if the tax — currently under appeal and awaiting an April hearing — is struck down in court.
The city has pointed to higher-than-expected revenue numbers in the first month of collection and said the industry could be exaggerating revenue decline and job losses in an attempt to prevent similar taxes in other cities or to gain a favorable outcome in court.
Minutes after news of layoffs broke, the city sent out a release announcing that its pre-K program has created about 250 jobs, through expanded teacher opportunities and support staff. In a survey completed by pre-K providers last week, directors reported 191 new teaching positions; 147 of which are full time. The average pay for the positions is $14.72 an hour.
DeCecco said there was nothing political about the layoff announcement.
“This isn’t something we take lightly or want to do, and we are committed to working with our employees and the union to treat impacted individuals with the care and dignity they deserve,” he said.
Danny Grace, secretary/treasurer for Teamsters Local 830, which represents many of the employees affected, said in a statement: “Our worst fears have been realized today. … This terrible news, although not surprising, is particularly disastrous for the members of Teamsters Local 830, who rely on a strong soda industry for their livelihoods.”
Since the new tax is providing so much new income, maybe they will make it even higher at the April hearing…….then the city could hire even more to ‘teach’ the pre-K chilren.
This is where it’s going to be very important for Trump and republicans not to fuck up, yeah I know, tall order.
There are so many liberals who believe that the government should do whatever necessary (take from others) to provide for all. Progressive millennials believe that no matter what you do for a living, scrape gum from sidewalks, paint murals, write poetry, or make fries, if you “work” 32 hours a week, hell if you just want to sit at home, you should receive a living wage.
We know new or higher taxes are not the answer, how do you convince a millennial liberal fucktard of reality?
Let the liberal run city’s fall apart and go feral I guess.
“Pepsi said Wednesday it will lay off 80 to 100 workers at three distribution plants that serve the city.”
Looks like the deplorable column on the ledger just added a few more….Keep it up dems, eventually you are going to run out of productive people completely.
Anyone catch Pelosi’s pouting last night. Now, juxtapose that image with the look on these folks faces as they are given notice. That is what will ultimately be the complete destruction of the liberal / Marxist wing of the democratic party, and probably the entire party.
It’s not just Philly libtards, though they were the instigators, I believe, but the fumbduck liberals in Boulder, CO, San Francisco, Albany and Oakland, CA have also voted in a tax-by-the-ounce soda tax. Liberalism truly is a contagious disease.
A retail establishment just outside those taxing jurisdictions would be pretty good. I don’t think thy thought this through.
What the fuck all do they believe they are teaching a three year old. Subsidized baby sitters. Bet those drivers and others were making more than 14.72 an hour. Damn I love living in a town of 84 people. Government is still corrupt but at least there is less of it.
Seattle is considering the soda tax based on the ‘success’ of Philadelphia proving stupid is infectious in local politics.
I’m beginning to think that 95% of the liberals never, ever set foot in a business or economics class. Liberals think that government can simply wave their magic wand and make things happen. A regulation here, a new law there and government can make everything right. You see this thinking in things like the Philly soda tax, rent controls to help affordability, or minimum wage laws.
If liberals took a business class they would understand trivial concepts like supply and demand. They would also understand that no matter how many regulations you pass, the market will always from a way around them or simply quit producing.
The more of this crap government does, the more I feel like I’m living scenes from Atlas Shrugged.
To be a leftist peon you have to be unable to understand second order effects and believe that only what you intended to happen from a five year olds level of analysis will happen. Anything else that happened is the fault of the other party and the big bad people who don’t follow your orders.
Even beyond the concepts of supply and demand, they don’t understand the concept of the “fuck you inflection point” (FYIP). Libs don’t think anyone would “cut off their own nose to spite their face”. They think that if they, for example, raise the effective income tax rate to 75% that people will just take it up the ass, keep working and keep paying taxes because it’s arithmetically better to keep 25% of that incremental additional income than to not earn that extra amount. They start with the assumption that everyone will work as hard as possible, earn as much as possible and be satisfied to keep whatever after-tax income the libs allow. That’s not how humans work. It’s not logical to smash up your ex-wife’s car, but people will do it anyway. I don’t know exactly where the “fuck you inflection point” is, but it’s probably about 50% of the next dollar earned. People will say “fuck you” if the government keeps more than half of the next dollar they earn. Might as well not earn it. It’s the fucken principle of the thing.
I took a lot of business and finance courses to get my MBA, but I never learned of the “fuck-you inflection point.” I like it though. It makes perfect sense.
It’s like Bobby Axelrod says in “Billions.” ” What’s the point of having ‘fuck you money’ if you never say, fuck you.”
I personally reached the FYIP point a couple of years ago. I sold out my Real Estate investments, sold my businesses and now make very little in monthly “income”. Just enough to pay the bills and not be taxed too much. Once Oblabla made it more expensive and risky to operate my businesses than just stay home, or travel etc. I took the hint, and simply checked out. I may be persuaded to start a business in the future or execute on a few good ideas, but the asshats have to make it worth my while. Until then F^&* them.
At least when I see some stupid local or national program wasting money, I can say to myself (outside of property taxes of course) that “I” am not contributing to the stupid. Of course there is that inflation thing, but hey, my free time and quality of life is worth more than the marginal gain I would get from “keeping up” with it, besides, on the road this country is on, I suspect that a whole lot of assets will be getting a lot cheaper suddenly within the next few years.
I have never meet a taxpayer funded employee that was not convinced how tough and underpaid they have it and how much more they would recieve in salary in the private sector . They are all full of shit ! Though none will admit it , they have never seen a dollar I earned that they did not feel entitled to ! Teamsters pension plan just went belly up and more to follow ! CEO salaries are obscene compared to what has happened to working people in our country but that is another argument taxes need a full over haul when I pay a higher % per dollar than Warren Buffet something is FUCKED UP ! No he should not pay more per dollar earned but neither should I and don’t give me that capital gains horse shit income is income regardless of the source . As Americans we deserve total and equal treatment especially regarding government actions towards us ! Taxes are necessary and total equal and fair is already mandatory we are just victimized by our government !
A cold soda is one of the few pleasures low income people can enjoy. A $20 bottle of cabernet might be affordable to a Philly lawyer defacing public property but its a bit rich for the average guy. Same goes for a bottle of booze ( which is nothing but fermented sugars) so if Philadelphia municipal government wants to squeeze the public why not tax wines and spirits and let the little guy enjoy a can of coke.
When was the last time you met a Progtard control freak who was not consumed with angst that somebody, somewhere, might be having an enjoyable moment?
Notwithstanding the blow back from shenanigans such as these, I surmise it’s just the start as desperate governments everywhere start scrounging for money to stave off their demise. I just bought North’s “Government by Emergency” to get up to speed & for some strategies but don’t expect to survive unscathed.
I think the soda tax is a good one. Considering people from Philly are low life slobs.
They just cant resist soda pop with those cheese steaks.
“Money is the barometer of a society’s virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion–when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing–when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors–when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you–when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot”
― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
The real Achilles Heel of the tax is that if you are going to jump across the border to buy soda outside the city to evade the specific tax, you will just buy your groceries and gas there, too. These people literally have no ability to think even one step ahead of anything.
A Philadelphia politician take a business course??? Don’t you have to be literate for that?